Rewound Crucible
Rewound Crucible is an Odyssey Event, and the fifty second in the series. It is scheduled to start on September 20, 2016 at 8:00 PM (PST) and end on September 23, 2016 at 7:59 PM or 19:59 (PST). It is the twelth episode of the Dark Stigma story and sixth in the Aggrandom storyline. __TOC__ Feature Changes New Event UR (Hard Battler) Hammerhead Barentz is available before the start of the event in the Ascension Saga Card Pack. Odyssey Skill Cards * Pneumatic Rifler Rivel (UR) Test of Strength Card. Gives 2x the Items regardless of Skill level. Gives 3x the Items when evolved with maxed out Skill. * Hammerhead Barentz (UR) Boosts the number of Event Items acquired by up to 1.2x regardless of Skill Level. ** (Heavy Armor) Hammerhead Barentz (UR) 1.3x boost. ** (Steel Will) Hammerhead Barentz (UR) 1.4x boost. ** (Cover) Hammerhead Barentz (UR) 1.5x boost. ** (Whelmed) Hammerhead Barentz (UR) 1.6x boost. ** (Initiative) Hammerhead Barentz (UR) 1.7x boost. ** (Barreling) Hammerhead Barentz (UR) 1.8x boost. ** (Condolence) Hammerhead Barentz (UR) 1.9x boost. ** (Galvanized) Hammerhead Barentz (UR) 2.0x boost. ** (Upheaval) Skyfire-Stamping Barentz (UR EX) 4.0x boost. Story With the war in the capital resolved for the present, you set out across Contratellus with a new purpose: gathering additional allies. Only then could you once more stand before the corrupt tyrant Ildanev. ...... After some days of peace, the Lightholders had finally come in pursuit. Fortunately, they were yet small in number, and you were able to evade further notice by moving carefully through the wastelands. As dusk neared, you found a deserted town and thought to take refuge in one of the seemingly empty houses. However, no sooner had you entered it than Salvador sensed a strange presence from the back. "Quiet! Somethin's still in here!" Hands on your weapons, you and Salvador crept forward until a bedraggled figure stumbled forward. "Gaaahaha! A surprise, new visitors! New visitors, a surprise!" The goblin spoke in a hoarse yet spirited voice. Judging by the creature's unkempt hair, tattered clothes, and slender limbs, she did not seem to pose a threat, but there was an ominous gleam in her eyes. You wondered if she was what had Salvador so tense. Still wary, the two of you moved back to guard Elimval. "Oh, please excuse us. Is this your house? We thought it was empty, so..." "Kiii-yah!" Elimval was interrupted when the monster let out a shrill scream and leapt backwards in surprise. Wearing a look of suspicion, she glared and pointed directly at you. "Who are you? You are who? Depra hasn't seen any with spite so heavy as you... Yes... An aura of blood and hate hangs thick..." You shuddered, recalling the pain and regret that accompanied your past battles. However, you were also concerned about how Depra was able to discern your past... "Don't listen to a word of that loony windbag." A gruff exhortation boomed through the door, where just beyond stood a burly man gripping a massive warhammer and roughly 50 soldiers to his rear. Their arms and armor were mismatched, speaking of their mercenary status. They exuded a spirit of masterful experience, that which Salvador had sensed earlier. "But she's got more of a right to be here than you suspicious types wandering into any house that suits their fancy. Who are you?" Elimval chose her words carefully in her reply. "We're, um... travelers. We were led into this area due to... circumstances, so we're unfamiliar with the local conditions..." "Circumstances, eh? Like what?" A jeering voice came from behind the accusatory gaze of the mallet-wielding man. However, his expression soon relaxed and he gave a good-natured chuckle. "Well, none of our business. You don't look like blackguards, and you seem capable of handling yourselves. Call me Barentz. I'm the leader of this unit. " At his response, his men also slackened their guard. At that moment, the strange laugh resounded once more behind you. "Gaahahaha! There's no one and nothing here anymore... but the Skyfire will return again... And when it does, so will they... All of them moaning and yelling..." Depra danced about as she chortled. "Enough!" Barentz slammed his massive hammer against the ground, causing a tremor that startled Depra into silence. Then, she guffawed one last time and scurried into the night wilderness. "Who was she? And what'd she mean by 'Skyfire?'" Salvador looked at you in confusion. "She was talking about the Skyfire Horde, the ones threatening this kingdom." Barentz gravely explained the eerie phenomenon. "A wisp-like blaze will appear in the wastelands after nightfall, bringing with it a drove of soldiers on a scale the likes you've never seen. We were hired by the kingdom to back up their knights, but even with our combined numbers, there's too many for us to handle. There's a garrison on the edge of town we've been hiding out in while we think up an escape plan." Elimval then timidly offered a question. "Well, if they only appear at night, why don't you try escaping during the day?" "If it were that simple, we wouldn't be having this here conversation right now!" A woman holding a strange rifle snapped in response. Barentz elaborated further. "The Skyfire can appear anywhere in the kingdom. Even if we moved while it was light out, there's no guarantee we could reach safety in time. And on top of that, they'll appear at random. It could start the moment the sun sets or just before dawn." A low growl came from the saber-tooth tiger of another soldier in Barentz's ranks, its eyes fixed upon the murk. "Well, looks like they decided not to waste any time tonight..." Suddenly, the horizon itself seemed to burn, the conflagration spreading to the ground and swelling like a wave. "Now I get how it got its name!" Salvador focused upon the shadows in the roaring flames -- thousands of armored soldiers. Barentz turned back to you and the others. "If you want to live, stand and fight!" "Like you have to tell us!" With a frustrated sigh, the archer brought an arrow to his bowstring. You also drew your sword and prepared for the coming battle... ...... The Skyfire Horde had moved to encircle the entire town, and so you and the mercenaries repositioned yourselves to fend off attacks from all directions. Regardless, it seemed like merely a token effort to delay the inevitable, for the mercenaries fell one after the next in the melee. "Hey, look over there!" Salvador directed your attention to an unusual figure amongst the enemy forces, appearing to belch the Skyfire's flames into the air. "Higher, higher! Burn the hate! Burn the grudge!" "I'll be a monkey's uncle if that isn't the leader." Trusting in his judgment, you called out to Barentz that the enemy leader had been sighted and were going to stop them. "Charging headlong into this crowd?! Haha, you got guts; I like that!" Above the war cries and death screams of the battlefield, his order roared. "If you still got blood in your veins, follow me! We're about to put an end to this!" Joined by Barentz and Salvador at the head, you pushed into the frenzied throng to end the night of chaos. Epilogue The wastelands and the ruined town were bathed in the flickering ochre light of the Skyfire while the silhouette of the flames' source wavered in the pale heat. "Rise higher, higher! Until the hate is gone! Until the fear is gone!" The ghostly plasma crackled and roared as more shadows emerged, also duplicates of the spirits who had fallen in battle. "More incoming!" Barentz bellowed with a mixture of frustration and desperation to see the Skyfire Horde return to their former numbers, undoing hours of effort in mere seconds. "There's nothing and no one here..." Strange mutterings could be heard mingling with the sound of the Skyfire. "There is nothing here but corpses. Lots and lots of corpses. There is nothing here but the dead. So many... all of them moaning and yelling... "Hey, that sounded awfully familiar!" Salvador shouted in surprise. Those words were also familiar to you, spoken by the skittish goblin you met before who had also regarded you with suspicious eyes. "Who are you? You are who? Depra hasn't seen any with spite so heavy as you..." There was little doubt remaining about the identity of the Skyfire's origin. "So that freakish shin-biter was the one behind all of this!" "But why would she do such a thing?" Salvador and Elimval exclaimed in unison, drawing the attention of Depra. "What is this? This is what? Depra is the only one here, along with these grumbly bones. The land moans sometimes, too... I can hear, with the Skyfire's ears..." She performed her peculiar spinning dance again, as if reveling in the cursed flames. It seemed she could comprehend the thoughts and resentment of the dead due to the Skyfire. But before you could ask anything else, she suddenly fell to the ground and began to writhe in pain. "Gaaaaaaaaah! It hurts! Why did you kill meeeeee?! It's cold! Don't leave me! I hate you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll killlll youuuuu!" The Skyfire was consuming her mind. After absorbing so many memories of the dead, she was slowly losing her own. "Seeee?! Looky look at how many there are! I must gather more! Moooooore!" New shadows appeared from the Skyfire, numbering into the thousands. Every one of their pale eyes were aimed towards you and the mercenaries. Then, with a deafening battle cry, they hurtled forward. "Okay, listen up! We're going to find their weakest point and break through! Got it? Then charge!" Barentz led the mercenaries into a thundering clash with the replicated creatures. Despite the many wounds they bore, their fighting spirit had not abated. Brandishing their myriad weapons, they broke a hole in the line of the Skyfire Horde, through which you darted with incredible speed. "Burn! With flames of hate and flames of spite, burn it all awaaaaay!" Depra continued to dance as if intoxicated by the swirling mass of malice. Suddenly, she stopped and opened her eyes wide. "Who...?" She had been too distracted to notice your approach after piercing the Skyfire Horde's line, and turned around the very moment you plunged your sword through her chest. Her head then hung down, eyes agape with disbelief as they beheld the blade burrowed deep. "Gaa... hahaha..." A hollow laugh fell from her lips along with a trickle of blood. You removed your sword and she collapsed to the ground. In that moment, both the Skyfire and the Horde vanished without a trace. ...... "Ahhh, the morning air after a tough battle tastes better than coffee!" The squinting Barentz turned from the morning glare to offer you a broad smile and a hearty handshake. "It's not often I have the honor of fighting alongside someone as bold as you! Give me a holler anytime you need a hand. I'll even cut you a deal!" As he and the other mercenaries marched away, Salvador scoffed. "Heh, he's a real fool for fightin', huh? If he weren't a mercenary, he'd probably end up hurtin' someone real bad sooner or later." However, you were still somewhat forlorn even after surviving the ordeal, and the ever-attentive Elimval noticed your condition at once. "What's the matter, Hero?" The words of Depra continued to nag at you. Although you were unsure how she knew of your history, she was correct that many had died by your hands. "C'mon, forget what that creep said and pull yourself together already." Salvador spoke in an encouraging tone, one he rarely used. "She can't judge you like that without knowin' what you've been through. And for every life you've taken, you've saved a ton more. ...Like mine." "And mine, as well! I know I certainly wouldn't still be here if it weren't for you, Hero!" Elimval also chimed in, gesticulating exaggeratedly as she tried curiously hard to enliven your spirits. "Besides, a gloomy face doesn't suit you! And on such a fabulous morning! You shouldn't let it pass without enjoying it to the fullest!" She was correct, especially considering how you had overcome the recent trials here and in east Contratellus. It was important to appreciate good weather -- and good friends -- whenever possible. Furthermore, although you had found a new ally in Barentz, there was much yet to be done. With your mood brightened, you and the others continued westward beneath the dazzling sky. Chapters/Quests *Energy *Encountered every 25th Area after reaching Area 100. Rewards Final Ranking= |-|Lucky Ranking= |-|Guild Ranking= |-|Defeated Boss= |-|Victory Count= |-|Event Items= Category:Odyssey Events Category:Rewound Crucible Category:Aggrandom